Fencing structure



Dec. 23, 1952 J. CAMPBELL FENCING STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 31, 1950 INVENTOR. J HN CAMPBELL. BY

A TTORNEVS.

Patented Dec. 23, 1952 AENT FFICE FENCING STRUCTURE John Campbell, Florence, N. 5., assignor to Leon M. Seidel, Bordentown, N. J.

Appli ation .1 anuary 31, 1950,,Serial No. 141.32%

3 Claims. 1

The invention relates to a fencing structure comprised primarily of sheet material made up into fencing sections of knock-down character which may be readily assembled to constitute ornamental or toy fencing of various sizes and shapes, and with the sections readily adjustable with respect to each other but nevertheless held effectively in desired position. Further objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious and in part specifically referred to in the description hereinafter contained which, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred form of fencing structure constructed to function in accordance with the invention; the disclosed form of the invention however should be considered as merely illustrative of the invention in its broader aspects. In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side view showing adjacent fencing sections in assembled relation.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view, on a somewhat enlarged scale, of the elements used in connecting adjacent fencing sections.

The invention is illustrated as applied to adjacent fencing sections A and B, each of which has body portions consisting of elongated strips i of sheet material, for example sheet metal, these strips being shaped to provide a fencing of ornamental configuration. As shown, the strips are cut away to provide a series of uprights 2 which are spaced apart in the central portion of the strips, but connected adjacent the opposite side edges of the strips, by bridge portions 3. Edging strips 4 of appropriate strip material such as sheet metal, are shown as enclosing the opposite side edges of the strip I, these edging strips l serving as top and bottom rail members when the fencing is in use.

To detachably hold adjacent fencing sections in assembled relation, I provide post members which are shown in the central portion of Fig. 1 in the form of U-shaped pins 5 having legs 6 which detachably engage in sockets provided in the adjacent end portions of the sections. As shown, the edging strips 4 terminate short of the ends of their respective fencing sections, in such manner that the respectively adjacent bridge portions 3a, which are severed in forming the sections, each protrudes laterally beyond the adjacent end of its corresponding edging strip and as shown best in Fig. 3, these protruding bridge portions 3a are shaped to provide sockets through which the legs 6 of the post members are passed as shown in the central part of Fig. l. Preferably the lower end portions of the legs 6 are provided with detents 1 (Fig. 1) which engage under the adjacent sockets 3a to hold the fencing in a position somewhat above the lower ends of the post members 5. These detents i may be formed for example by flattening out somewhat the material of which the pins 5 formed, so that some force is required to pass the detents 7 through the sockets 3a, and cause the detents l to hold up the fencing sections when the pins 5 are fully inserted in the sockets. It will be noted that the pins 5 space the adjacent ends of the sections so as to preserve the regularity of the uprights 2 at the junctures of the sections.

The pins 5 also form pivotal connections between the fencing sections, in such manner that any desired number of sections of the same or different lengths may be readily assembled to form fencing enclosures of different sizes and configurations. For example, the right hand section B of Fig. 1 may be relatively short, to constitute a gate which swings open or closed readily with respect to section A, and when so used a pin 5a having a short leg 8a may be used to hold the gate in closed position, this leg 6a engaging only with the upper socket 3a of the fencing section (not shown in Fig. 1) which will be adjacent thereto when the gate is closed.

While the invention has been disclosed as embodied in a fencing structure of the above described specific form, it should be understood that changes may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fencing structure of the character described having fencing sections comprising elongated strips of sheet material, edging strips enclosing and extending along the top and bottom edges of said first mentioned strips to constitute upper and lower rail-like members for the fencing, said first mentioned strips of sheet material protruding laterally beyond the ends of their respective edging strips and such protruding portions of the first mentioned strips being shaped to provide upper and lower sockets therein, and post members engageable between adjacent fencing sections, said post members being U-shaped members having substantially vertical legs spaced apart, which legs are slidably and pivotally engageable respectively with the aforesaid upper and lower sockets of adjacent fencing sections thereby to hold each of said sections pivotally in 3 assembled relation to the post leg passing through the sockets thereof.

2. A fencing structure of the character described having fencing sections comprising elongated strips of sheet material, edging strips extending along the opposite side edges of said first mentioned strips to constitute upper and lower rail-like members for the fencing, said first mentioned strips of sheet material being shaped to provide a series of spaced uprights connected by bridge pieces adjacent the top and bottom edges of the strips, said bridge pieces being severed at the ends of the sections and protruding laterally and being shaped to provide upper and lower sockets disposed beyond the ends of said edging strips and which sockets are directed substantially parallel to said sheet material, and post members engageable between adjacent fencing sections, said post members being U -shaped members having substantially vertical legs spaced apart, which legs are slidably and pivotally eng-ageable respectively with the aforesaid upper andlower sockets of adjacent fencing sections thereby to hold each of said sections pivotally in assembled relation to the post leg passing through the sockets thereof.

3. A fencing structure of the character described having fencing sections comp-rising elongated strips of sheet material, edging strips extending along the opposite side edges of said first mentioned strips to constitute upper and lower rail-like members for the fencing, said first mentioned strips of sheet material being shaped to provide a series of spaced uprights connected by bridge pieces, said bridge pieces being severed at the ends of the sections and protruding laterally and being shaped to provide sockets disposed beyond the ends of said edging strips and which upper and lower sockets are directed substantially parallel to said sheet material, and post members engageable between adjacent fencing sections, said post members comprising U-shaped pins having legs slidably and detachably engageable with said upper and lower sockets to hold adjacent fencing sections pivotally in assembled relation with respect to each other, one or more of the legs of said post members having detents adjacent their ends shaped to engage under the respectively adjacent sockets.

- JOHN CAMPBELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 795,646 Plummer July 25, 1905 1,638,966 Small Aug. 16, 1927 1,764,584 Tarrier June 17, 1930 

